What do a hunting dog supply distributor, an online diamond retailer, and a home repair guru have in common? They were all up on Capitol Hill yesterday talking with lawmakers about the positive effects of online advertising on their small businesses. Check out video of their testimonies before a subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee.

Small businesses are driving economic growth and freedom of expression across the Internet, and online advertising is playing a key role in their success. Take Rob Snell, co-owner of Gun Dog Supply, a hunting dog supply store that was started by Snell's parents in their Mississippi home in 1972. Today, Gun Dog Supply has customers well beyond Mississippi thanks to advertising tools like AdWords, which have enabled the Snells to build a multi-million dollar business catering to hunting enthusiasts around the globe (anyone looking for a bright orange dog collar?)

Tim Carter, who runs home-improvement site Ask The Builder from his home in Cincinnati, also shared his success story with the subcommittee:

AdSense is helping Tim sustain his vibrant publishing business by making it easier for him to show ads on his site. In Tim's words, online advertising enables him to "publish thousands of my past columns and hundreds of my short videos for free... and allow millions of people... to have unparalleled access to content like never before." Tim's site is just one of hundreds of thousands of small online publishing businesses that exist in large part because of online advertising.

We're excited to play a part in the success of these entrepreneurs. And we'll continue talking with policymakers about our partnerships with the long tail of online businesses.

For those not familiar with it, NCMEC works closely with federal law enforcement across the U.S. to help prevent child abduction and sexual exploitation and to help find missing children. From serving as the clearinghouse for reports of online child pornography to issuing Amber Alerts when children go missing to reuniting families in the wake of Katrina, NCMEC is at the forefront of efforts to protect society's most vulnerable members.

In a policy talk called "Beyond Milk Cartons: Keeping kids safe in a digital world", Ernie provided an overview of NCMEC's work and chatted with Googlers about the ever-changing landscape of child protection challenges shared by parents, educators, advocacy organizations, and technology companies like Google as we work to help families make smart choices online. Watch Ernie's talk on YouTube.

Technology is an invaluable tool for addressing some of these challenges. In a recent example, a team of Google engineers dedicated their 20 percent time over the last year and a half to build cutting-edge software for NCMEC that uses image and video recognition technology to help NCMEC analysts more effectively sort and review incoming reports of child exploitation. NCMEC analysts sort through tens of millions of images in child sexual abuse investigations, and we've tried to leverage our expertise in organizing huge amounts of data to help make their important work more automated and efficient.

Tackling online child safety issues is no small task, but we'll continue our collaboration with organizations like NCMEC, along with other partners in schools, government and industry, to take collective strides in the right direction.

Today Google joined a national initiative of public interest, civic and industry groups to help launch the Internet for Everyone campaign, whose goal is to make ubiquitous and open broadband access for every American a priority in the next administration.

For more than a decade the Internet has driven unprecedented innovation, economic growth, and prosperity. Companies like Google, Amazon, eBay, Facebook -- and numerous smaller but impactful players -- have fundamentally changed people's lives. Their success wouldn't have been possible without the ability of tens of millions of Americans to connect easily to a open Internet. And there's no doubt that the next generation of inventions to transform our lives and our economy will happen online, making high-speed access to the Net more important than ever.

Unfortunately, over the past several years the U.S. has been falling further behind Europe and Asia in broadband access and quality. As I've written about in the past, our country's comparatively low ranking in broadband penetration will have a real impact on whether the U.S. retains its edge in innovation. The social and economic consequences of America's failure to remain competitive are serious, and we should dedicate ourselves to fixing this deficiency. The Internet for Everyone campaign promises just such an effort.

There's no doubt that the decisions we are making today will shape the Internet of tomorrow. In my view, we must develop a comprehensive, forward-looking national innovation strategy to address and forestall America's technological decline. The Net's future has every potential to be bright, but it will happen only if we ensure that everyone has access to its broadband on-ramps.

If you've been following politics (or our blog) closely this year, you may have seen some Google Maps mashups from the Iowa Caucus, Super Tuesday, and the US state primaries--including an extra special primary map in Pennsylvania. We've recently discovered several other elections map mashups on the web that are just as interesting and we couldn't help but share.

In order to better showcase these maps to you, we've created a Google Maps Elections Gallery that will serve as a collection of the best political maps mashups during the US campaign season. Here's a sneak peek at what's inside:

Primary Results: Take a look back in time as you view the final outcome of the United States primaries. Check results down to the county level and measure how close the final votes were between democratic candidates Clinton and Obama.

Fundrace: The Huffington Post brings you a map that tracks campaign donors by party, candidate, and location. Already have the Earth API plug-in installed? Try switching on the Earth mode for an even richer experience!

Twitter: Use the Twitter map to discover what people around the world are saying about the US elections.

Search Queries: Can search queries predict the elections? View the most popular candidate queries around the United States and discover historical trends up to six months back.

Campaign Trail: A one-stop shop that showcases each candidate's next campaign stop.

Whether you're a citizen journalist, online news producer, or just love staying on top of the political news, you now have the opportunity to further engage yourself (and your readers) with the 2008 elections by adding any of these maps to your site.

Days after the close of the U.S. presidential primaries, political pundits, campaign strategists, journalists, technologists, and others gathered at our Washington office to discuss how the "first 21st century campaign" is changing politics as we know it. Topics ranged from the democratization of voices in the media to the power of small donors and community organizers to Lindsay Lohan's political clout.

"Obama Girl" producer Ben Relles gave us a sneak peek at his upcoming YouTube video. Lizz Winstead, co-creator of the Daily Show, gave her thoughts on TV journalism today, and why it gave rise to political comedy online and on television. Christopher Hitchens shared why he thinks everyone wants to vote in an American election. And the Internet directors from the McCain, Obama, Romney and Clinton campaigns assessed the role of technology in getting out the vote.

In previouspostings, we've made the case that the TV "white spaces" could be used to provide broadband internet for all Americans without harming current users of this spectrum (TV broadcasters and wireless microphone users). In a new white paper, we make the case that better use of the white spaces could actually lead to new, vastly superior wireless microphones, rather than pose a threat to live events.

The main problem that users of wireless microphones face today is coordination. A single venue may involve as many as 300 microphones. Coordinating the frequency assignments of all these microphones is overwhelmingly difficult, taking hours of careful preparation.

With more permissive rules from the Federal Communications Commission, new wireless microphones could be designed to work in a very different way. Modern signal processing technologies taking advantage of these new rules could help eliminate the coordination problem. These same new technologies would also help guard more effectively against interference of all forms, attacks by malicious hackers trying to disrupt events, or eavesdropping by individuals illegally recording events.

The proposed new rules for the TV white spaces, in addition to improving the lives of millions of under-served Americans by providing low-cost mobile broadband internet access, could also improve the ability of sound engineers to provide audio for live and recorded events without hours of difficult coordination, and without the constant threat of accidental or intentional disruption. And as we've pointed out in a recent filing with the FCC, this can all be done without disruption of existing devices during the transition period.

Today, we announced a non-exclusive advertising agreement that will provide Yahoo! with access to our AdSense for search and AdSense for content advertising programs on their U.S. and Canadian web properties. In addition, we will work to enable interoperability between our respective instant messaging services allowing users better, broader communication online.

We are proud of the advertising technologies we have built, which show users a relevant ad whether they are searching for a specific item or browsing the internet. This arrangement extends those benefits to Yahoo! and its many users, advertisers and publisher partners. We currently provide similar services to sites like AOL and Ask.com as well as many other partners, and we work closely with all of our partners to ensure that our partnership drives their long term success.

Why did we make this agreement? Quite simply, we think it is good for users, advertisers and publishers. By offering Google's industry-leading technology to Yahoo!, the whole system becomes more efficient, and everyone benefits:

Consumers will see more relevant ads when they are looking for information and browsing the web. And with interoperability between IM services, users will have easier access to even more of their contacts.

Publishers currently in the Yahoo! Publisher Network will benefit from Google's advertising technology, potentially increasing the revenue they earn from their sites.

Advertisers will have new ways to reach their target customers online more efficiently.

We also think this is good for competition. The truth is, this kind of arrangement is commonplace in many industries, and it doesn't foreclose robust competition. Toyota sells its hybrid technology to General Motors, even though they are the number one and number two car manufacturers globally. Canon provides laser printer engines for HP, despite also competing in the broader laser printer market. Google and Yahoo will continue to be vigorous competitors, and that competition will help fuel innovation that is good for users.

It is important to say what this agreement is not:

This is not a merger. Rather, we are merely providing access to our advertising technology to Yahoo! through our AdSense program.

This does not remove a competitor from the playing field. Yahoo! will remain in the business of search and content advertising, which gives the company a continued incentive to keep improving and innovating. Even during this agreement, Yahoo! can use our technology as much or as little as it chooses.

This does not prevent Yahoo! from making similar arrangements with others. This arrangement is not exclusive, meaning that Yahoo! could enter into similar arrangements with other companies.

This does not increase Google's share of search traffic. Yahoo! will continue to run its own search engine and advertising programs, and the agreement will not increase Google's share of search traffic.

This does not let Google raise prices for advertisers. Google does not set the prices manually for ads; rather, advertisers themselves determine prices through an ongoing competitive auction. We have found over years of research that an auction is by far the most efficient way to price search advertising and have no intention of changing that.

We have been in contact with regulators about this arrangement, and we expect to work closely with them to answer their questions about the transaction. Ultimately we believe that the efficiencies of this agreement will help preserve competition.

The Internet is a healthy, competitive environment where content creators, advertisers and users come together to access information, communicate and create new business opportunities. We think this deal extends these benefits -- it's good for users, advertisers and publishers and good for the industry.

What if tens of millions of cars and trucks could connect to the electric grid instead of using gasoline? What would be the impact on oil dependence, global warming, and family pocketbooks? How can the government support the development of plug-in vehicles?

Why is Google interested? One of the priorities of Google and our philanthropic arm, Google.org, is to do our part to tackle global climate change. Our RechargeIT initiative is working on advancing plug-in vehicles, which reduce emissions by increasing vehicle fuel economy, and our Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal initiative is working on developing renewable energy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. We hope that one day soon millions of vehicles will be plugging into a greener grid.

Washington has the potential to put a real charge into plug-in vehicles and the grid that will power them. Potential first steps include: increasing federal vehicle R&D for batteries and other key technologies; procuring plug-in vehicles for the federal fleet; providing tax credits for car buyers; and setting new standards.

Plug-in vehicles also require that the auto industry partner with electric utilities. The plug-in vehicles we expect to see over the next few years will remain small-volume curiosities if we can't figure our how to successfully fuel millions of cars and trucks from our electric grid. Washington has a role to play in accelerating the integration of vehicles into the grid and supporting real-time pricing and other mechanisms that incentivize the economic use of electricity.

Voters in Ireland go to the polls on Thursday in a vote that could have a significant impact on the future of the European Union.

The Treaty of Lisbon -- which would make some significant changes to how the European Union works -- must be ratified by all 27 EU Member States before it can enter into force. Ireland is the only one of the Member States that will hold a referendum on the treaty, which takes place on 12 June.

As the referendum approaches, opinion polls seem to show we are heading for a close finish and the Yes and No campaign have ramped up their efforts. For the first time in Ireland a political contest has moved significantly online with a wide variety of websites, blogs, video resources and online advertising providing voters with a huge volume of information and opinion.

With the treaty potentially having a significant impact on economic and social development across Europe, Googlers in our European HQ in Dublin have taken an active interest in the campaign.

We recently hosted a debate at our offices where a panel of prominent speakers set out the Yes and No arguments for a large audience of Googlers. We have worked with the National Forum on Europe (an organisation that provides a forum for debate on European issues) to help them establish a presence on YouTube. The Forum is hosting a series of public debates on the treaty and their YouTube channel gives an opportunity for the views of “ordinary” people to be heard by a wider audience.

We have also partnered with Rock the Vote, an innovative grass-roots campaign which aims to increase voter turnout, particularly among young voters. On 6 June we hosted "Ask The Experts" -- a panel discussion with academics from law and political science, with an aim of providing clear and impartial information to help voters make an informed decision. And on Monday 9 June we facilitated a live web debate with questions from an audience of young voters and from universities across the country via a live web link-up.

Voters in Ireland will have their say on Thursday and people in Ireland and across Europe will watch the outcome closely.

How is the Internet changing campaign strategy and helping to break down traditional barriers to political participation? What impact do politically-minded bloggers and YouTube users have on political journalism? And does the Internet open up an opportunity for pop culture to have an influence on politics this election season?

Political journalists, representatives from the campaigns, pop culture media gurus, and others will answer these questions and more next Wednesday, June 11, when Google's D.C. office and National Journal host a discussion on how technology is influencing campaign strategy, media coverage, and political buzz this election cycle.

EVENT DETAILS:The first 21st century campaignWednesday, June 112:30 pm - 7:00 pm ETGoogle Washington Office1101 New York Avenue, NW, Second FloorRSVP to RSVP@nationaljournal.com by June 9th

As was the case last year, tens of thousands of highly skilled individuals hoping to work in the United States recently learned that they'll be unable to do so. About 163,000 H-1B applications were filed this year, significantly more than the 65,000 cap. Those lucky enough to win the H-1B lottery will be allowed to work in the U.S., but the rest will be turned away.

As for Google, this year we submitted 300 H-1B applications, and we're sorry to report that 90 hopefuls were denied. The yearly H-1B lottery continues to affect our employees and our business, which is why we continue to urge the U.S. government to increase the artificially low cap on these visas.

We realize that many people have strong views on the topic of immigration. Some commenters to our recent post on H-1Bs criticized Google for not hiring more Americans. Although we're committed to hiring outstanding American candidates, Google hires employees based on skills and qualifications, not on nationality. Many times our strongest candidates are Americans; in fact, about nine out of ten of our U.S.-based employees are citizens or permanent residents. But if we're to remain an innovative company -- one that is creating jobs in the U.S. every day -- we also need to hire exceptional candidates who happen to have been born elsewhere. After all, if we were to hire only U.S.-born talent, we would effectively close ourselves off from most of the world's population, and tools like Google News and orkut (both of which were invented by former H-1B visa holders) may have never been developed.

Other commenters suggested that Google should fund education for underprivileged American students, to better prepare American students to fill technical jobs. We agree, and that's why for many years we've supported hundreds of students through our scholarship programs, and we've sought to encourage K-12 students nationwide to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering, and math through partnerships with organizations like Citizen Schools, the National Center for Women & Information Technology, and others. We've also worked to build a diverse workforce, recruiting historically-underrepresented computer scientists and engineers and partnering with external organizations committed to diversifying the fields in which we work.

Google receives more than one million resumes each year, and we don't cut corners on talent. Our employees are our greatest competitive advantage and the single most important ingredient to ensuring our future growth and success. Simply put, restricting Google and other tech companies from employing the best and brightest minds is restrictive to our ability to grow and innovate.

We continue to urge the U.S. government to raise the H-1B cap, to ensure that we and other American companies are able to attract, hire, and retain the world's top talent.